Today on TV Tuesday with Table for Five, I’m talking about Skeet Ulrich, an actor that I think is really getting a raw deal in Hollywood.One thing you should know about me is that I’m a show-killer. If I like a new series, there’s a very good chance it will get cancelled after the first season. Which is exactly what keeps happening with me and Skeet Ulrich.
He’s been working steadily since 1996′s “The Craft” (one of the many movies I can’t NOT watch when it’s on), but he has yet to find a series that sticks. His first series “Miracles” in 2003 for ABC kept getting interrupted by footage of the Iraq war and was finally pulled from the air after only 5 episodes. The 13 episodes shot for the first season are available on DVD. From the comments I’ve read on the show’s IMDb page, fans of the show think it was a shame that another network didn’t pick it up.
If you didn’t watch “Jericho”, you missed a great show that you should watch on DVD. The first season was riveting and Skeet was especially good as Jake Green, whose hometown is cut off from the rest of the world after a nuclear attack. Jake had left home for a mysterious reason (we later find out he was a sort of contractor in Afghanistan) and had only recently returned before the attack, and turned into a town leader. When the show was threatened with cancellation after the end of the first season, fans raised such a ruckus with CBS that they agreed to do a second season, but that was it after that.
In 2009, Skeet did three episodes of CSI:NY that should have had Emmy voters showering him with every trophy possible. He was BRILLIANT as Hollis Eckhart a/k/a The Compass Killer. But at least since I knew it was a guest star gig, I didn’t get my hopes up.
And then finally, there was Law & Order: LA. I thought FINALLY, Skeet Ulrich will get a TV series that will stick. And at first, it seemed like it would. He was paired with Corey Stoll, a TV guest star veteran and movie actor who was terrific in “Salt” with Angelina Jolie. On the “Law” side was Terence Howard and Alfred Molina, and with the reputation Law & Order has for multiple seasons of excellent episodes, I was sure Skeet was finally here to stay.
**SPOILER ALERT**
But then Skeet Ulrich’s character was KILLED OFF. Wha???? What has this young man done to deserve never getting to stick around? He’s a good actor, handsome, charming, has good timing – why can he not get a role he can hang on to? I would say he’s got the Christian Slater curse – poor Christian, his show “Breaking In” is so fun, but hasn’t been renewed for a second season yet (SEE?? SHOW KILLER) – but Christian Slater has NINE movies completed, in post-production or in pre-production, so he’s not hurting for work. Skeet on the other hand, has nothing on his IMDb page to indicate any work lined up.
Come ON, Hollywood. Give Skeet a Chance. I mean seriously, look at this face!
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I agree 100% Most of the shows Ulrich picks are too high brow for American television. Miracles was one of the best shows ever written for tv and got burned by the Gulf War 2.0.
Jericho was superb and I think that at least 2/3rds of the people who sent nuts in to renew the show were Skeet fans first, Jericho fans second. He was brilliant in Armored with a small role and the ratings for L&O:LA have improved significantly since they brought his character back through unaired episodes. He has real star charisma. Christian Slater, I hate to say it, is one dimensional as an actor — and his voice is so distinguishable that the viewer sees Christian Slater on the screen first, then the character. That’s what I love about Ulrich — you just see the character. He looks totally different in LOLA than he does in Jericho, and far more different than in Miracles and the only change is his hair? That speaks volumes about the way he carries himself and moves on screen given the character’s traits.
Frustrated fan done venting.
Hi,
I loved watching Skeet Ulrich on Law & Order Los Angeles. Killing him early on was a mistake. Have the ratings gone up since his departure.